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ArchivesRe: Other meanings of the male first name Elias?
in reply to a message by Lucille
In Greek Elias, or rather Helias, means "of the sun" (Helios). Apollo is the Greek god of the sun, and it is not surprising that many Christian churches dedicated to the prophet Elias were built on the ruins of temples to Apollo (mostly on the peak of hills and mountains).
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Thank you, Pavlos! But.... (read on)
Are you completely sure of that? By searching Google, I found that Helias is only a Hellenised form of Elijah, and that the connection of Helias and Helios is only coincidental. Or is that wrong? Where did you get the information that Helias is connected to Helios?
And, did the name Helias or Elias even exist in Greece before christianity became a religion there? Before people even heard of the bible or Jesus?
Sincerely,
Lucille
Are you completely sure of that? By searching Google, I found that Helias is only a Hellenised form of Elijah, and that the connection of Helias and Helios is only coincidental. Or is that wrong? Where did you get the information that Helias is connected to Helios?
And, did the name Helias or Elias even exist in Greece before christianity became a religion there? Before people even heard of the bible or Jesus?
Sincerely,
Lucille
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First please bear a little grammatical digression: Some words beginning with a vowel in Greece have a 'rough breathing'. These words in English always begin with an h or an s. For example 'yper' becomes 'hyper' or 'super' in English, as 'omogenos' becomes 'homogenous', the Goddess Estia becomes Hestia etc.
The Sun, 'Elios' becomes 'Helios' in English. So, to return to your question, if a Greek Elias were to be related with the sun, his name would be definitely be spelled with an rough breathing (Helias) as with Helios. Alas, most Eliases in contemporary Greece have no rough breathing. However I have seen some Eliases using a rough breathing, to claim an etymological link with the Sun
To see if there were any Heliases in ancient Greece, I checked with Lexicon of Greek Personal Names http://www.lgpn.ox.ac.uk/lgpn1.html. Indeed, there are records of the following ancient Greek 'Helias' ¡V related names:
Helias (f)
Helios (m)
Helion (m)
Heliodoros (m)
So it is not a pure coincidence :)
ļ
The Sun, 'Elios' becomes 'Helios' in English. So, to return to your question, if a Greek Elias were to be related with the sun, his name would be definitely be spelled with an rough breathing (Helias) as with Helios. Alas, most Eliases in contemporary Greece have no rough breathing. However I have seen some Eliases using a rough breathing, to claim an etymological link with the Sun
To see if there were any Heliases in ancient Greece, I checked with Lexicon of Greek Personal Names http://www.lgpn.ox.ac.uk/lgpn1.html. Indeed, there are records of the following ancient Greek 'Helias' ¡V related names:
Helias (f)
Helios (m)
Helion (m)
Heliodoros (m)
So it is not a pure coincidence :)
ļ
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Okay, thank you again, Pavlos! :)
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